We are Team Mongol Mule - Our aim is to raise money for two charities that we believe really make a difference to the quality of people's lives. To achieve this we will be participating in the 2011 Mongol Rally, riding 10,000 miles, through 13 different countries, on 125cc motorbikes to the capital of Mongolia - Ulaanbaatar. We are raising money in two different ways, by asking for direct sponsorship and by auctioning our bikes and all our equipment upon our arrival.

Last day of work today and last chance to MOT the bike. It failed on wobbly wheel bearings and no pilion footpegs. The lack of footpegs was easily sorted by strapping my bag to the back of the seat so that no one could sit there. The wheels were a bigger problem. Front had new bearings but the hub was rubbing so a washer was put in to allow it to spin freely. Great but now the speedo does not work. The back wheel was quite tricky as the bearings could spin in the wheel. This was solved by wedging four strips of feeler gauge in there. Proper good bodging. The post office is now closed so no chance of getting tax till tomorrow so i wont be going to the pre launch camping. Early start tomorrow then.

I was on my way to the MOT place today when i got stopped by the rozzerz. My bike was flagged up as not having tax, mot or insurance. It took half an hour to get everything sorted so i could get on my way. When i got there the mot place had closed. I wish the police would go and catch some real criminals. I will have to try again tomorrow.

I'm off to Goodwood. Keep remembering that I've forgotten things and I'm trying to get to the point where I just ride out of Bristol and on my way. My heart is in my mouth and I hope looking at the bike it is obvious why. I keep reassuring myself that it is designed to carry two people so should be able to carry the weight of a few bags. So here's a few pictures of the finished article, warts an' all!

Right we have to keep a little secret. At least two of my house mates have been away and I checked the tenancy contract, it said no pets. The weather in the UK for the past week has been wet, interspersed with soggy and splashy.

So MOT is booked for Monday.

I've managed to get the bike ready mechanically but I have a nemesis that is electrics. Micheal my sisters boyfriend came up on the Friday night we worked till 2 am sorting out the electrics. Micheal worked on the bike I worked drinking bear and making coffee.

We got the bike done indicators, headlights and instrument panel. The horn it appears no longer has any honk.

So, the lights is on and the bike needs a bit of reassembling to hopefully go through the MOT with flying colours.

Just don't tell the landlady the Ginger Mare spent the night in the dinning room.

Myself and Dan went up to Bristol last night to pick up my bike. Now it is here i can realy get to work on her and rope in knowledgabe chums to make her road legal and also at least marginally ready For offroad riding. My new philosophy on preparing the bike has been reduced to the idea that if it is too well done it may give out further along our route, but the closer to home i need to do work on her the easier (is this sound reasoning or the jibberings of a man who has only 2 weeks left??).

Ps. James Watt came up with the best name for my bike. Well done James, you now owe us dosh for the privelage.

Three more injections to post about. This is getting a bit tedious now but i've started so i'll finish. Im having a few more jabs than i first expected to. Typhoid and second Hepatitus B last tuesday, then first Tickbourne Encephalitis on thursday. Only two more trips to the nurse to go, and i'm definitely getting a sticker next time.

I have popped up to bristol again this weekend to tinker with my bike. Lots of bits have been bought and put on the bike. We have serviced our front forks and i have fitted a new carb. With the ups you still need to take the downs! There is so much still to do i'm getting a bit worried. I will try to get Dan with a trailer to help me get my bike back to Bournemouth so i can work on it more regulary.

Now for the awesome news. James has arranged sponsorship from Fowlers of Bristol who have given us some great kit. We popped in to Fowlers, planning to be in and out in a jiffy. Best laid plans don't always play out as they should. Dan (different Dan) who worked there was very helpful and a jiffy turned into a 2hr pie eyed shopathon. Jacket first, airspin by weise. Very vented should be amazing in the desert. Then trousers, then gloves and then boots. Words are hard to find about how grateful we are as we walked out without a ringing of the till. Thank you very much to everyone at Fowlers for your support.

Bikes are coming on nicely. It's amazing what you can get on ebay. I had a bit of a run in with my arm and the gears. Luckily my house mate was soon on hand with alcohol and cotton wool to clean it up. It left the sort of mark you would find on your trouser leg from a bicycle chain but, in blood on my arm! A motto of mine, you can tell your having fun when it starts to hurt a little.I watched the worlds fastest Indian. It's a truly inspirational film staring Anthony Hopkins.

There are a few reasons why this film is great, one is brilliant quotes, in answer to someone asking Burt if he is scared "No... You live more in five minutes on a bike like this going flat out than some people live in a lifetime."

I had my first ever self made accident the other day. I was leaving Glastonbury festival site and dropped the bike. I was going about 10-20 miles an hour so no harm done to me. This might be the sort of practice I need. The road was covered in festival mud.

Me and Tim have managed to secure Jacket, Boots, Trousers, and gloves from Fowlers Motorcycles in Bristol. Can't thank them enough. More about them later and logo's. Now is the time to put your just giving money in. Just click the blue circles on the right of the page.

I started my first lot of travel injections on tuesday. Typhoid and hepatitus in one arm and rabies in the other. It made me feel a bit rubbish for a few days. Two more trips to the doctors and i will be ready to go!

Hi all. A little post here to say thankyou to everyone who helped us raise £90 from our raffle at Jennys birthday party. Our thanks goes out to James for sorting us out with two tickets to Go-Ape, to all at The Three Tuns in Bransgore (the new forest) for donating a meal voucher and two bottles of wine and to the Goat & Tricycle, Bournemouth, for another bottle of wine. There was also a large bottle of Jack Daniels up for grabs.

Our thanks also goes out to all the people who bought tickets and most importantly to Jenny who let us hijack her party in the name of charity.

Still looking at the scenery, and the openness of the country, makes me want to get out there soon. We leave in about 5 weeks, plan is to get to Prague in two days which is a total of 850 miles to the Czech out party. This should clear alot of the European countries in one hit and leave us with a whole load of unsuitable terrain. I'm looking into getting uprated rear shocks to help cope with the extra weight and rough conditions. j

I popped in to Poole Moto today to see whether they would be interested in helping us out with equipment for the rally. These guys have been very helpful and knowledgeable in the past when i started motorcycling and they came up trumps again. Having spoken to the staff there about the rally and the charities we are raising money for they kindly agreed to help us out with some protective equipment.

Here we have two motocross helmets that have been donated and there are two sets of mesh upper body armour on order.

A big thank you from the MongolMule team.

Check out the Poole Moto website. They have EVERYTHING you would need for your motorbike.

Goodness, 49days left. I'm off to Cork to take part in a rowing racetoday and will return after the weekend. Next weekend is IOW festival which my brother has gotten me tickets for. Weekend after busy then Glastonbury. I feel as though the time is slipping through our fingers like a tumble weed down a desert road.

I got a new exhaust yesterday, it is actually new, very iridescent and gleams with the shine of a thousand headlights .

We've been busy seeking corporate sponsors and so far have done well. You will be told more about this soon. I wanted to say a big thanks to Jake:

who has donated a Vaude mark II tent. This will be our home for the majority of our trip so important to be comfy. Previous stories from other Mongol ralliers are that of snakes everywhere when trying to set up for the night. I'm really looking forward to that experience.

One major hurdle successfully leapt. I passed my big boy bike test today. no more L plates for me.

My thanks goes out to all the guys at 'Richard Atkinson Motorcycles' (02380 226 963) for their support and patience. Over the last two years I had picked up a few bad habits on the road. These guys put me straight with excellent tuition and some great banter. I would recommend them and will be back there myself for some additional training in two years time when my 33bhp restriction is lifted.

I am struggling for a name for my bike. The blue beastie is the best I have come up with, bit naff really. Pleas help with any suggestions in the comments below. I will post a vote for the best name. (keep it clean!, children's charities). Cheers, Tim..

ps, the registration ends KLF, you know, Also known as 'The Justified Ancients of the MU Mu',.... yeah, you know,..... the british Acid House group (they call themselves a 'movement') from the late 80's. If that gives you any ideas.